Worlds Divided
by jimsar73
Summary: Dick Grayson, an orphan. What would have happened if Bruce Wayne was unable to adopt him? This story explores a different path Dick could have taken when becoming robin, a path that puts him through many hardships and the worst of times. Though this path also shows Dick the value of true friends and how they can help you through your lowest of moments.
1. Chapter 1

_**Rating: M (May boost rating depending on chapter)**_

_**Warning: Rape, Abuse, violence, language (Add anything that appears in later chapters)**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything**_

_**Constructive Criticism is welcomed**_

**Worlds Divided**

The roar of the car engine is what startled Dick back into reality, as his shiny blue eyes, now currently filled with tears about to join the ones that had already escaped, became focused on his current surroundings rather than the events prior. He looked down at his leotard that was now stained red with his family's blood, causing a jolt of pain in his head at the sudden rush of memories. In an attempt to get as far away from those memories as possible, he decides to focus on other things such as the Gotham police car he was currently curled up into a ball in, which was being battered by the raging storm outside. Even the police officer who was driving was more interesting to study at this exact moment, Jim Gordon he believes was the name he saw on the man's badge. That man was the one who had comforted Dick and taken him away from the circus. As Dick drifts off back into his thoughts of the circus, he fails to notice the building they were currently pulling into the driveway of.

Jim turned around and faced the boy that seemed to have his thoughts someplace else, and decided giving him a little shake to grab his attention. He didn't fail to notice the distraught boy flinch.

"Hey kid, we're here" Jim stated in his gruff voice. Dick looked up at the odd man, then looked around attempting to find out where 'here' was, eventually deciding to ask. The child's small voice emerged shakily, "where exactly is here?"

It was almost said in a whisper that Jim had to lean in a bit closer to catch the question. "The one place we can send ya, Gotham orphanage" Jim replied with a grim voice.

Dick only nodded, and pulling his jacket around himself, jumped out of the car allowing the rain to wash away all signs of tears he had shed. With shoulders hung low, he went and grabbed his bags, Jim helping him carry them, and walked up to the front door. Jim looked down at the shivering boy, 'hopefully he won't catch a cold' he thought.

"You know, you may not have to spend too long here if you get adopted, though Marie the one who runs the orphanage is a sweet old lady, she'll take care of you" Jim said as he smiled down comfortingly at the boy.

Dick looked up at those words, but instantly noticed how the smile was fake, and life in Gotham would never be that easy.

Jim knocked on the door a few times and they both waited in silence.

A plump woman who looked quiet run down answered the door, seeming as though she was about to yell at whoever was knocking at this ungodly hour, though she refrained from doing so when she saw Jim. Greeting him she invited them inside, "welcome to Gotham orphanage, I am Marie and I look after all the children here." She smiled a tired looking smile as she spun around with her hands indicating towards the current house they were in.

"Thankyou Marie, this is Dick Grayson, your newest resident who will be staying here until he is hopefully adopted. Now I need to get moving, other matters to attend, but I trust you shall show Dick around?" Jim replied in a polite and formal tone, no doubt gained from many years of experience in the police force.

"Of course, I'll take care of Dickie here, you get a move on" Marie said sweetly whilst pulling Dick to her side and ushering Jim to the door. With a wave Jim left leaving Dick with Marie.

Dick didn't know what to think, the house was old and shabby though the lady seemed nice, nothing like the circus though. As she begun speaking of the rules and showed him to his room, he zoned out completely, just numbly following along, only really caring for the escape of reality that was sleep.

Once left in his room with a goodnight kiss and his belongings, he immediately flopped onto his bed being slightly pained from the hardness of the mattress, but nonetheless falling into a restless sleep.

The loud sounds of pots and pans being bashed together awoke Dick from his restless slumber, with the early morning sunlight filtering through the wafer-thin curtains as he pried apart his eyelids that were laced with sleep.

The first thing he realised was another set of eyes staring unamused at him, and the second was a fat finger prodding his side. A gruff voice from what sounded to be a teenage boy spoke, "rise and shine roommate, gotta give you the room tour!"

With confusion to the older boy's words Dick cautiously sat up, but still slow from the lack of sleep, he failed to notice the rough hand that grabbed his shoulder. Before he knew it he was skidding to the other side of the room and landed hard against the wall. The voice spoke again, though with more amusement in it this time, "my name's Terry, and you are the new kid, which means you need to learn your place"

Dick heard the large footsteps coming closer as he curled himself into a fatal position, he even heard the rustle of fabric as Terry's leg drew back, ready to strike. Sucking in a breath, Dick braced himself. Suddenly, the door slammed open and the croaky voice of a woman pierced the air, "breakfast time boys! Didn't you hear the wake up call!" And not a second later were Marie's hands wrapped around Dick's and Terry's ears, dragging them off towards the kitchen.

As Dick was roughly shoved into his allocated spot on the long bench, a small bowl was placed in front of him full of what appeared to be, the best way he could describe it, cow shit. His first mouthful even tasted like it. Dick cautiously peered along the table scanning over each of the other orphaned children, they all varied in age with the youngest whom appeared to be 4, to the eldest whom appeared to be 18. They were all wearing extremely ragged looking clothing, which caused a jolt in Dick's stomach as he realised he still had not changed out of his leotard. Drawing his attention away from the others, Dick looked down to find his leotard still soaked in his family's blood. His eyes stung as he fought back tears and he excused himself from the table before he had barely touched his meal.

Racing back to his room, and getting lost on the way multiple times, Dick found his bag safely tucked away under his bed with fresh clothing. Picking it up, he navigated his way through the large house to the showers, occasionally running into the other children. Upon entering the washroom, Dick scrunched up his nose in disgust. The place indeed looked quiet unhygienic with mold flourishing in the damp corners and a layer of grime covering every touchable surface. Attempting not to touch most surfaces, Dick squeezed his way into the shower, stripping down and running the water. Whilst attempting to wash away all of last night's memories under the not so clean water, Dick heard the squeak of a door hinge. After a few moments of silence, he shrugged and continued on. He could only ignore that small sound for so long though as the shower door was ripped opened and a hand was clasped over his mouth, with his windpipe being blocked off by an arm. A gruff voice then spoke, a voice he recognised that belonged to Terry, "we didn't get to finish our introduction earlier!"

Dick could practically hear the smile, and mumbled and struggled pointlessly, the grip was too strong. The voice spoke again, whispering dangerously into his ear, "And now I have your attention, why don't we continue"

The arm tightened around his neck, Dick was really struggling for air now, with his vision slowly going black. Suddenly oxygen flowed through him, and many brightly coloured swirls filled Dick's vision as the arm had seemed to release right before he had blacked-out. Sputtering and coughing, trying to fill his lungs with oxygen, Dick was too distracted to noticed the leg flying towards him. With a cry of pain, the shoe had buried itself into Dick's stomach, as he collapsed on his back.

"You make interesting sounds there roomie" Terry's piercing voice practically sang over the sounds of the flowing shower water.

At the end of his words, Terry climbed atop of Dick and starting beating him over the head with his fists. All this time, Dick was struggling to escape, but by the end of the beating he had given up and was lying on the cold tiles, his body rattling for breath.

Terry, after having his fun and believing he had given his lesson, was now leaving. Right before he exited the bathroom, he turned his head grinning wickedly and spoke, "that was fun, hope to do it again sometime"

Dick, after lying under the cold shower water for another few minutes, struggled to push himself up and turn off the water. Leaning against the wall, he dressed himself, grabbed his belongings and slowly trudged out of the bathroom and to his bedroom. Collapsing on his bed since Terry was nowhere in sight, he mumbled to himself, "could today get any worse?"

The day continued on as usual, a few hours passing by here and there. Dick nowhere insight, seemingly having disappeared, but to one who really looked, they would realise he was more so hiding. After getting out of the old building and into the few acres of land they had in their possession, Dick searched for a place to escape. A place to escape from his memories, and also from Terry, his tormentor. Walking through a field he had stumbled upon, and fumbling a little down a hill, still slightly groggy from the beating in the shower, Dick came upon an old shed. Rusted terribly and seemingly abandoned, he ducked under the chains struggling to hold together the doors that were falling apart, and cautiously entered. Inside was spacious, with plenty of machinery that was most probably used to keep the grounds of the orphanage well kept, now seemingly forgotten and left to rust away. Though when Dick entered, his sight caught the glint from the steel of the butcher knives hanging down from a beam. They reminded Dick of the circus, with their sword and knife performances that were both daring and dangerous.

He had been taught the basic skills of knife throwing, so walking over to them he lifted one off it's hook. Feeling the leather grip in one hand and running his other hand up the edge of the blade, he lifted up his arm and flung it across the room. The metal twisted in the air causing it to bend slightly off course and pierce right next to the wooden beam Dick had been aiming for. Dick nodded as a notion that that wasn't half bad, and picked up the next butcher's knife available. This continued on as a few more hours came and went, Dick's aim getting better with each throw. That is, until the sound of an old church bell rang through his ears. 'Must mean dinner' he thought, as his stomach growled loudly in agreement. 'Oh yeah, I missed lunch' he mentally sighed and started making his way back to the old building for supper.

Coming up the back doors, Dick found himself in a stampede of children all racing to get their food. In an attempt to not get trampled, he quickly scaled a tree and waited until the crowd had died down. Jumping down almost silently he blended in with all the other children, not wanting to draw attention, and collected his plate that, too, was full of cow shit. Taking his allocated seat, Dick pushed around his food with his spoon, suddenly having found himself with no appetite for the dinner. Looking around himself, he noticed an older boy who had a bread roll. His stomach growled loudly, Dick needed that bread roll.

Silently sliding under the table, his mind begun formulating a plan.

'Locate his shoes: check. Now, reach my hand up, but make sure no one is looking! Okay...good... Now find the bread roll. Located. Pull it back down and-'

His train of thought was suddenly interrupted when he felt something sharp stab into his hand. Letting out a muffled squeak and hitting his head on the table above, Dick's hand retracted back under the table leaving the bread roll above. Inspecting his throbbing hand, Dick could make out the faint marks made by a fork, but a new pain erupted as his hair was almost pulled from his head and he was lifted out from under the table.

A burning sensation came to his cheek as he was slapped by a wooden spoon, and looking up through tear-filled eyes he could make out Marie and the boy he tried to steal from angrily staring at him. He could hear the angry shouts from the boy and the muffled laughter from the other children as he was dragged from the room by Marie, her hand pulling at his ear.

Forcefully shoved into a seat opposite the intimidating desk, and door behind him locked, Dick could hear the heavy breathing of Marie who was seemingly slightly pissed.

"I don't know, or care, what background you come from boy, but we do not take kindly to stealing here!" Marie's stern voice cracked the silence filling it with anger and disappointment. Dick already missed the silence.

"Punishment will be carried out to get the message across to you: stealing is not taken upon kindly" the lasts words spoken sternly and being ground out through her clenched jaw. Dick's head hung low, eyes looking at the floor. He knew it was bad, he knew his parents would never approve, so why was it all he could think was 'I must refine my technique, practise more'

Marie opened up a drawer and pulled out a belt with a few studs attached to it here and there. She walked over to Dick, each step agonisingly slow and echoing loudly throughout the room. When she stopped infront of Dick, the young boy looked up, already predicting what comes next. Marie nodded her head upwards, and Dick getting the message, stood up and walked over the the desk. Marie right behind the boy, pulled down his sweatpants revealing his bare skin, and lining up the belt, a resounding 'thwack' echoed off the walls. Dick, bracing himself for the next one, gripping the desk tight and bitting his cheek as to not scream, though a few tears did escape. Another hit. And another. And another. A few more came down before Marie had decided the boy had learnt his lesson, and walking back around the desk she dismissed him. Dick immediately pulled his pants up and over the now raw and raging red skin, and practically ran out of the room. Still the only thought going through his mind was 'I must refine my technique, practise more'

Stalking back to his room begrudgingly, Dick noticed the time on an ancient clock he was passing: 9pm. That meant lights out, and he was still half a building away, with the deadly staff patrolling the halls. He did not need another 'lesson'. Practically melting into the shadows, Dick walked silently through the halls, attempting to blend into the torn wallpaper best he could whenever a staff member passed. After 10 minutes, that had seemingly taken forever to pass, Dick quietly opened the door to his room. Squeezing through as he had opened it just enough for his size, he tip-toed across the room and slipped under the sheets that were atop his bed, not wishing to wake the older boy, his roommate Terry, from his slumber. Dick laid on his back, but soon found it was too uncomfortable from the 'lesson' he had just received, so decided to twist over onto his stomach, where he silently cried himself into a nightmare filled sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Tossing over and sitting bolt upright, Dick noticed it was still dark out. His natural body clock must have woken him, he had to get up and out of the room before Terry woke up. A week had passed since Dick had practically been dumped at the orphanage, a whole week since the death of his entire family. He was still suffering from that, nightmares plaguing his sleep. His daily routine hadn't really changed from the first day, though a few things tweaked here and there, such as him waking up before dawn so as to not get beat up by Terry. Pulling a coat over his considerably dirty clothing, Dick lightly walked out of the room to fetch an early morning breakfast with the kids who either woke up early, or didn't sleep at all. He found he was the latter, but always there for the before dawn breakfast. Over the week, Dick's skills had progressed with his knife throwing and aim at pinpoint precision, and he was as silent as a mouse and as fast as a lightning bolt when it came to stealing. Extra meals here, new clothing there, anything he needed he could take, though to get to this point it did take a few beatings when caught.

Grabbing his sloshy bowl and moving to his seat, Dick picked at his food. He had made a few friends, though there weren't many kids his age at the orphanage. No one had come and tried to adopt him either, it was as if he was left to rot away here with the building and his mind playing tricks with his memories. Shaking his head, Dick pushed aside his thoughts. 'Not today' he thought, 'Today will be different, someone will come'. Just like every other day, the same routine, same thoughts, same bullies, same beatings, same building.

The clock tower rung out, signalling lunch. Dick knew the times now, so he didn't stray too far when he knew he would be called back, and seeming as he was just outside the doors, he strolled on into the kitchen. As one of the first to get served, he received a bread roll. In his allocated seat, he observed all the other kids entering through the, seemingly not wide enough, doors. Scanning over the room, he noticed two of the staff conversing. 'Might be something interesting' he thought, as an idea formed in his mind. His eyes followed them as they exited, and chasing after them he exited too. Climbing up into the air vents and following the two staff members, Dick pulled out an old map that had the layout of the air vents. He had snatched it from Marie's desk during one of her 'lessons'. Following them into a room, he peaked through the grates and watched. A television was brought out and the news Channel was flicked on.

"This is the current scene playing out right now over Gotham, as the Joker and THE Batman are currently engaged in a battle on top of Wayne Tower" the reporter spoke. Dick observed the madman on the screen. The Joker: of course he had heard of him, who hadn't? It was Gotham! But to see him on the screen was different to the stories. Looking him up and down, Dick got a sense of dread. That was when he noticed it, a remote control in the Joker's hand. Moving up to the Joker's lips, Dick found the camera was zoomed in enough to be able to read his lips: "oh Batsy~ should you really be up here fighting me? Especially when you could be disabling the weapon of destruction I've planted somewhere in the city! HaHAHAHahaHAHa! Just think of the orphaned children~"

Dick froze. His breathing came out heavily as his hands began to sweat. The Joker had said the orphaned children, was there a device planted within the orphanage? He weighed out his choices: no way he could get everyone to evacuate, sure he may be able to disable it, he was a master hacker after all as he had learnt it all in the circus, but without the right equipment ... No. There was only one thing he could do, he had to get out. Panting now and suddenly finding the air vents very small, Dick followed the path to the exit. Popping open the grate and jumping out, landing in a flower bed, he sprinted. Dick got about 100 metres before he was deafened, and a fiery heat exploded at his back, flinging him another good 100 metres. Impacting the ground hard, Dick shook his head and blinked wildly, trying to get his bearings. The wringing in his ears wasn't helping, leaving him disorientated. Finally managing to stand, Dick slowly walked over to the wreckage of what was previously known as the orphanage. Sinking to his knees, he let the tears silently roll over his cheeks, as his glassy eyes searched the debre for any signs of life. All that met him was dead bodies. Curling into a ball and hugging his knees close, as if they would fall off if he let go, Dick waited for the sound of sirens.

A crack of lightning accompany a sudden hand on Dick's shoulder is what caused the boy's breathing to hitch. He hadn't heard sirens yet. Not wanting to turn around, Dick spoke aloud, "look, I-I don't have a-any m-money".

The words were broken up by the small sobs that escaped in between. "I'm not here for money, I'm here to apologise" a gruff, deep voice spoke back. Dick's eyes widened as he realised who it was, and spinning around so fast the hand fell off his shoulder, he pointed a small finger at the figures face, well mask. "You! You k-killed all of them! You c-could have pre-prevented this, but you d-didn't. You fought the Jo-" a large gloved hand cut Dick off as a finger was placed to his lips. "By stopping Joker I prevented this happening to even more innocents. I'm sorry" the gruff voice spoke through clenched teeth, lips barely moving. Said in almost a whisper, Dick replied, mainly spoken to himself, "the cost was too high". Dick turned back around and faced the wreckage, sensing the presence behind him disappear, off to God knows where.

Not a minute later could the sound of sirens and cars racing down the street be heard, brakes screeching to a halt, the light scent of burnt rubber grazing over the air. Many officers raced by Dick, with a few medics escorting him over to an ambulance. He was in too much of a daze, as he watched the officers pull out the dead from the wreckage. So many bodies. A puff of smoke being blown into his face and a familiar smell brought Dick out of his trance like state. "Afternoon Gordon" spoke Dick, breaking the silence. He spoke as normal as he could muster, though his voice did waver slightly letting off the hint of tears. "Afternoon son, how are you holding up?" Gordon asked, looking over the young boy. He didn't seem too badly hurt, physically that is. A few scratches and bruises here and there, plus the slight shaking of his shoulders. His mental state was a whole other story however. "What will you do with me now?" escaped the raw, quivering voice of Dick Grayson, as his glassy blue eyes, held a gaze with Gordon's. "We'll find you a foster family" was all that was exchanged as an answer. All

Gordon could manage after staring into the kid's fearful, sad eyes that had lost their light and innocence that was meant to come with childhood. Dick didn't reply, but merely nodded and hopped down out of the back of the ambulance. Gordon held out his hand, signalling to his police car, to which Dick walked in the direction of, crawling into the oh so familiar backseat and curling into a tiny ball.

After making a few calls and filling out some paperwork, Gordon believed he had found a suitable foster home for Dick. Taking a drag from his cigarette, he dropped down into the driver's seat. Starting up the car, he dared glance back at the young boy, only to find him fast asleep and curled up into a ball, having the seatbelt in a death grip. Checking the time, Gordon found it was 2 o'clock, already 5 minutes late for when he was meant to drop Dick off. Beginning the quick drive down to the Narrows, Gordon turned on the radio, listening to the events of the fight between Batman and Joker.

Pulling up next to the foster house, Gordon got a sense of dejavu, as he hopped out of the car and opened the passenger's door, lightly shaking Dick, "C'mon kid you've arrived at your new home".

A light grumble and what appeared to be the sentence "don't think this counts as a home" was all that was heard from the young boy. Shaking his head, amused by the boy's banter, Gordon decided to talk to the carers first. Walking up to the front door, Gordon knocked. Some yelling, a smash of what sounded like a bottle, and chains being unbolted later, there stood a thin 35 year old female who looked to be slightly hung-over. "Good evening madam, I'm here to drop off your newest family member" projected the voice of Gordon through the cigarette between his lips. He gestured towards the car where the young acrobat could clearly be seen curled up on the backseat. "Ah, yeah sure, mm...bring him in" the slurred speech of the woman's voice made it's way through the air. The smell of alcohol wafted over Gordon, but what could he do, it was either here or the JDC for the boy. Walking back down to his car, Gordon shook the boy a little more roughly, startling Dick awake. "I'm up I swear!" Came the slightly panicked voice of the boy, before his eyes focused on Gordon and he let out a breath. Grunting, Gordon spoke, "we're here at your new house kid"

He gestured towards the place watching as Dick's wide eyes followed his hand. The place, which somehow managed to look shabbier and older than the ancient orphanage, was a small two story house squeezed in between two dirty looking apartment building. Sliding out of the car Dick cautiously walked towards the house. When he neared the door, a thin woman stepped out, slinging her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a hug. She smelt of alcohol and something Dick couldn't identify. Gordon's voice reached his ears, "he doesn't have any belongings, so we expect them to be provided. We will come by and do regular check-ups on the boy to make sure he's fitting in. Here is a scholarship donated by Bruce Wayne for him to attend Gotham Academy, all school items provided, starts back in a month. He's all yours now miss." Dick heard Gordon's footsteps retreating back to his car, and looking up he saw the fake smile the woman put on as she waved him off. Once she was sure he was out of sight, she grabbed Dick's hair roughly and dragged the boy inside. "Alright now listen here kid, you do as we say or be punished. Our house our rules, we'll kick you out anytime we want, got it?" The harsh voice of a man spoke from somewhere behind him. He heard footsteps, keeping his eyes trained on the floor, and watched as shoes entered his vision. A slap to the cheek sent Dick flying onto the hard carpeted ground, this snapped his head up to look directly at the man. The man looked down on him, the fat man in a disgusting white singlet with God knows what stained on it. Baggy sweatpants hugging all the wrong places and his face, a foul beard that had collected many snacks and piercing eyes. "Got. It." The man repeated. Meeting that gaze, quiet fearfully, Dick slowly stood up, whispering a quiet, "yes sir" as he did. The man nodded to the woman, which must have meant she was excused since she walked out of the room. "I'm your new foster father, the name's Jeff, and you need a lesson in where your place is in this 'family'" ground out the harsh voice of 'Jeff', as he reached for Dick's hair and dragged him upstairs to what appeared to be Dick's room. Dick's eyes scanned the room right before he was thrown to the floor: a ratty mattress with even more disgusting stains, a rotting wardrobe and a window with mould around the edges. Oh and more hard carpet he discovered, as his face was squished into it, with the pressure of a foot atop his head.


	3. Chapter 3

Jeff's voice somehow made its way through the pain Dick was feeling, as his words were sent out in mockery, "so here's the house. What you're currently getting up close and personal with is your 'room'."

Dick's face was suddenly released, but only for a second, before his hair was pulled up causing him to stand. Next thing Dick knew, the other side of his face was pressed forcefully into the wall and his arm was twisted painfully behind his back.

"Don't worry, I'll give you the tour of my room one day" came Jeff's voice as a whisper on Dick's ear, though Dick couldn't place an emotion to it. His arm being twisted to near breaking point, and his head becoming one with the wall, Dick was twisted around quick as lightning and found a knee in his gut, causing drops of blood to trickle from his mouth. "You'll eat when we let you, and only leave this room if we allow it" warned Jeff as he sent an uppercut to the boy's face. This caused Dick's head to fling up sharply, and losing his balance he fell onto his back. A swinging foot buried itself into the side of Dick's ribs and Jeff's smile could be just seen through the pain.

"I think we're done for now, but I'll continue with more 'lessons' when I see fit" and with that Jeff left the room, but not before stepping on Dick's fingers causing a sickening crunch to be heard.

Dick, lying still until Jeff left, immediately brought his hand close to himself protecting his fragile fingers, and slowly crawled towards his 'bed', silently sobbing in the corner.

Gotham's polluted sky could be seen outside of Dick's window as he lied still, waiting for sleep to overcome him. It never did. His stomach had a different idea rather than sleep when it protested loudly, knowing he missed lunch and didn't seem to be getting dinner. Standing and slowly walking towards the window, Dick cast a glance towards the bedroom door. He could hear strange noises coming from Jeff's room below him, so he figured he wouldn't be coming up to check on him anytime soon.

Slipping out the window and onto the ledge, Dick slid down a drain pipe next to it. Landing roughly in a flower bed, Dick walked out onto the street and followed his nose. Sticking to the shadows since he knew how dangerous Gotham was, Dick came to some night time markets. His stomach growled loudly: food.

As he walked past a clothing store, Dick silently took a black hoodie, sliding it on as if nothing had happened and pulled the hood up and over his head. Grinning to himself when he saw a stand selling slices of pie coming up, Dick prepared for the catch.

'Act normal, don't draw attention. Move a little closer. Walk by smoothly, and ... Now take hold of the plate! Okay perfect. Keep walking calmly, don't make eye contact.' Cackling quietly in success, Dick was suddenly very grateful for the fact he'd learnt the skill of stealing in the orphanage. Ducking into a nearby alleyway, Dick feasted on his treat.

Once finished, he looked up feeling faint drops of water splatter against his cheeks. Noticing the time on a clock tower overhead, Dick silently cursed to himself and jumped to his feet and begun racing home. Turning in and out of the winding streets of Gotham, a few times almost collapsing from thinking he was lost, Dick recognised a shop. He was a block away. Changing step to a casual pace, he relaxed in his kind of familiar environment.

Rule number one: don't ever relax in Gotham.

As he passed an alley way, he felt a solid, cylindrical shape hit him behind the knees causing him to fall. Glancing up as he fell, he recognised it to be a pole. Two hands grabbed his shoulders right before he face planted, and pulled him into the shadows pushing him up against a wall.

He suddenly felt warm spots moving over his body, and looking over the arm pressed against his throat, he could see the warm spots were in fact hands. Hands roaming his body. Dick began struggling, attempting to escape or hit anything he could. He heard a deep inhale near his ear that sent a shiver down his spine, accompanied by the words "mm he smells like pie~", before he felt a wet sensation go from his neck to his ear. Guessing someone just licked him, Dick violently kicked out again attempting to hit whatever he could. Difference is, this time he was successful. He felt the arm leave his neck, and gasping for breath, he felt himself sink to the ground as the person he kicked sunk down with him, their hands covering their crotch as they whimpered.

'Im guessing bullseye' thought Dick, as he quickly stood. "Hang on kid, I'm not done yet!" Spoke a voice. Dick forgot there were two. Dropping down on instinct, Dick watched as the man who had lunged for him toppled over him, immediately sprinting away to the only place currently safer than the streets of Gotham: his room.

Dick, keeping to the shadows, came to stop underneath his window. Looking up only now did he notice it was a little too high to simply jump up. Sighing dramatically, he started formulating a plan to break in.

Observing his environment, he took note that there weren't exactly any trees around, though there were a few buildings with fire escapes.

Moving his eyes from his house to the tall apartments next door, he discovered his way in: the fire escapes.

Sneaking over to the building next door, Dick grasped the first, rusty rung of the ladder. Pulling himself up, he climbed to the third platform in the fire escape.

'Perfect, just as I planned' Dick triumphantly thought, as he assessed the distance between his house's roof and the platform he was on.

Taking a few steps back, Dick sprinted full speed, hand-springing over the railing and landing as softly as possible on the roof.

Feeling the drops of water continue to fall around him, having gotten heavier since eating his pie, Dick thought to himself, 'hopefully the noise will block out the thump of my landing.'

Dropping down onto his window ledge and climbing back inside, Dick shook as much water off himself as he could.

'This place may be bad, but after all I've experienced... I seriously doubt it will be as traumatising as almost being raped' Dick mentally sighed, collapsing on his 'bed' and wishing he could shower feeling dirty after his encounter.

Dick's mind awakened at the usual time of morning, being way too early, though his eyes didn't open just yet. They were still glued shut from the tears he shed during the night, mainly because of the recurring nightmares he has. Weakly bringing his hands up to his face, he rubbed at his eyes prying them opened. He then proceeded to let out a low groan of pain as he felt his ribs ache from the strong kick he had received yesterday.

Shaking his head, Dick slowly stood gaining his balance, and stretched out as many muscles as he could, seeming as what his foster family calls a 'bed' is tremendously uncomfortable.

Stumbling over to his window, Dick pushed open the window expecting a slight breeze to come through, though all he received was car fumes and bitter cold air. Deciding to shut his window, he slumped down against the wall. Head hung low, he thought about his misfortune the night before, 'I'm never leaving this house without a knife for protection, at the very least! I wonder if they have showers here...'

Dick stood fully, posture perfect as always, and headed out to explore the rest of the house.

'Well, it's nothing amazing, pretty crap if anything' he thought as he kept his distance from all mouldy and rotting walls, 'wouldn't be surprised if the building collapsed and crushed me in the night.'

Shaking his head, Dick continued exploring the tiny house, until he reached a door that was stationed right underneath where his bedroom resided. Knowing whose room this was, Dick decided against opening it. Partially because there was most likely a sight he was much too young to see, or he would be beaten, both experiences he did not want to try out. Heading back to where the kitchen was, Dick began searching the fridge and cupboards.

'Geez there is literally nothing to eat, guess I'll have to keep going out and getting my own food' he contemplated, moving around some of the plates.

The noise he was making must have been loud enough to awaken someone, because Dick tensed when he heard solid footsteps coming his way. Frozen in place, Dick felt a firm grip on his shoulder where a large hand was placed. The hand violently spun him around so that Dick's blue orbs were staring directly into Jeff's menacingly green ones.

"Well look-y 'ere, seems as though you're breaking the rules of this household" Jeff ground out from behind his teeth, looking Dick up and down. Dick could feel the man's breath blow over his face, sending shivers of fear running down his spine.

"I do believe a lesson is needed here, boy" Jeff half yelled, a deadly grin spreading across his face. It reminded Dick of the Joker.

A solid punch to the face, and Dick could feel blood running from his nose. A few more solid hits and Dick couldn't feel much of his face at all. He found himself so out of it Dick didn't even notice Jeff now had a baseball bat in his hands.

Jeff raised the bat above his head and slammed it down on top of the young boy. Dick grunted in pain as he slumped to the floor.

Another hit with the baseball bat to Dick's already bruised ribs was given, this prompted Dick to attempt crawling away. Putting in every ounce of energy, Dick got a few metres away before he was knocked onto his side, a shriek of pain coming from his mouth.

Jeff kept on swinging at Dick as though the boy was a bag of sand. Dick's skin already covered in purple spots as more 'thunks' and 'crunches' could be heard. Dick doubted Jeff would stop, he doubted he would even make it through this 'lesson", until he heard through his pain a soft gasp.

Blonde hair from a figure in the corner crawled into his vision, and also the sensation of not being hit with the baseball bat.

Jeff turned to his partner and saw her shocked face. Sure she didn't expect him to go easy on the kid, he barely went easy on her, but this was ridiculous. Faltering a little under her accusing gaze, Jeff dropped the bat and sneered, wiping his mouth, and stalked out of the house slamming the door.

Dick saw the blonde-haired figure rush over to his side and attend to his injuries.

Once Dick was well enough to sit up, and had actually regained feeling in his face, he found out that the woman had been studying as a medical student. Probably why she was able to tend to Dick's injuries so well. Though the woman was married off to the lazy lump that is Jeff and has been forced to live in the raggedy shack ever since, meaning her reputation was down the drain and she had lost all hopes of a good career. Dick shared his story with her, then thanked the woman and headed back up to his room.

'She is much nicer than Jeff' he thought to himself. Standing in the centre of the room and looking around, Dick found the room to be dreary and decided to explore Gotham again.

'I'm not feeling too bad, and Gotham shouldn't be as bad as it was at night' Dick decides, climbing out of his window.

Heading down many streets and silently mapping them in his mind, Dick took in the corruption that was Gotham. Fumbling with the knife in his pocket, he continued on as though he was just an ordinary citizen.

The knife he had pick pocketed from Jeff when they were locked in a stare off, Dick again silently thanked the orphanage for his skill in stealing.

Observing the buildings, he found many happened to be abandoned, most likely where all the gangs and sickos hung out.

'Reminder to stay away from those places at night' Dick noted.

After a few hours of walking, he had no idea how far he had come from his house, though what Dick did know was that he had come out of the dingy low-life area and into the playground for the wealthier. Walking around he saw plenty more shops and cafés, rather than the scrawny houses and abandoned buildings. He also notice the people, they looked more upper-class than the rapists that roamed where he lived. What really stood out to Dick the most though, was the school that was amidst it all: Gotham Academy. The building, just from the outside, looked very expensive.

'Can't believe that in a month's time I'll be going there' Dick thought dumbfounded, 'I must look like an idiot, I'm a mess and I'm gaping at a school.'

Walking over to a bench not too far off from a coffee shop, Dick sat down and took a deep breath of the smog-filled air. As Dick observed all the people walking by, he noticed a presence behind him. Standing up and spinning around, his hand gripping the pocket knife he had, he found himself looking at a girl with ginger hair who seemed to be a year or two older than him. Slipping away his knife before she saw, Dick gave her a questioning look.

The girl stuck out her hand and smiled brightly saying, "Hi, I'm Barbara Gordon"


	4. Chapter 4

Reluctantly, Dick grasped the hand in a solid shake, wincing slightly at the sudden movement. The jolt of pain was short, but clearly visible on his features seeming as Barbara caught on. "Oh sorry about that, just a little excited to see a new face!" came Barbara's words sputtering from her mouth, followed by the silent thought to herself 'A cute one at that'. Dick gave a half smile as an attempt to reassure her, though only ended up causing himself more harm than good, deciding to sit back down on the bench.

"Geez, you look like shit, what's your name?" Barbara's words flowed out of her mouth, a slight chuckle included.

"Richard Grayson, but call me Dick" the wary boy answered back.

"You're just asking for trouble 'Dick'" Barbara replied, emphasising his name.

Dick's eye's focused on nothing in particular as he thought to himself 'Definition of my life'.

Barbara watched with interest, studying the kid. Of course she knew who he was, she watched the news! It was just overwhelming to personally meet the infamous boy.

Barbara's words brought Dick out of his trance, "well how about you come back to mine and get yourself cleaned up? I know how the foster care system can be, and my dad won't mind."

Dick grinned widely and stood, "lead the way"

Inspecting the area they had walked to, Dick scanned over the house they were approaching. A small building with a few levels of apartments identical to the other surrounding buildings. Walking up the stairs, the building lacking in none, Dick and Barbara stopped in front of a plain door. Barbara stuck her hand in her pocket, a jingling sound resonating through the air, pulling out an old key. Upon opening and entering the apartment, Dick was greatest with the smell of scented candles mixed in with cigar smoke.

"Showers are down that hall, take as long as you need" the kind sounding voice of Barbara stated as she flopped onto the couch with an unusual sense of grace.

Dick nodded, watching the quiet attractive red head as she pulled out a book, turning down the hall. The small apartment was luxurious compared to his current house, and the bathroom was no different. Though he had yet to see his own house's bathroom, Dick already sensed that this was a 5-star hotel in comparison. Once Dick deemed the bathroom to be foggy enough, he stepped into the shower. Running his fingers through his drenched hair, Dick breathed out a heavy breathe, looking over himself and inspecting his many injuries.

'Few too many marks than what I'd prefer' came his dreaded thoughts floating through his mind.

Barbara continued reading her book, thinking how she had felt Dick's eyes glide over her. He looked like he had been hit by a truck. Her thoughts were broken off as she heard the lock of the front door click, a rush of air as the wooden slab was, most likely a bit more forcefully than anticipated, opened. Jim Gordon entered, greeting his daughter Barbara Gordon as he entered. Taking a drag from his cigar, he moved towards her, kissing her forehead. Barbara grinned up at him, though internally panicking at the thought of her father's reaction to seeing a boy here. She needn't waste time thinking it up, as Dick walked down the hall fully dressed and looking much better than earlier.

Jim turned at the sound of another pair of footsteps, giving a worried glance towards Barbara. He let out a startled shock at what greeted him: Dick Grayson, hair dripping wet having just exited his shower, a look similar to Jim's plastered on his face.

Dick stuttered for words looking between Barbara and her father, as he had just found out the hard way. He knew this certain police officer very well. Barbara just giggled at the men's reaction.

"Daddy this is my friend Dick Grayson, found him wandering through Gotham Central, though I'm sure you already know him" came Barbara's snide voice full of amusement.

Jim took the boy's silent as an opportunity to assess the boy. He looked a bit roughened up, no doubt from the faults of the foster care system. His eyes still held the same sorrow from before, though hiding behind a well maintained mask of happiness. Jim gave a nod to the boy.

Clearing his throat, Dick was next to speak "evening sir, I was just about to head out"

Hearing this, Barbara stood, walking over and standing next to the young boy, excitedly proclaiming, "You should stay for dinner! I'm sure you'd love a good homemade meal!"

Chancing a glance to Jim, Dick got the idea that he wasn't quiet at that relationship level with this small family. "Its fine Barbara, you've done so much already, I should really get going though."

Walking towards the exit, Dick gave a nod and a quick wave before heading out the door. Once safely outside Dick relaxed, having died a little inside, knowing Jim Gordon's intense stare was off his back.

Trudging back along the path Dick had mapped out in his head, a vibration sounded in his pocket. Confusion crossed his featured as he stuck his hand in his jeans, retrieving a phone.

'I don't own a phone' He thought, confusion clearly evident on his facial features. No closer to any answers, Dick picked up.

"You little punk! You get your fucking ass back to this house instantly you ungrateful little shit!" projected the voice of Jeff through the device.

There was Dick's answer. Jeff had most likely slipped it into his pocket before he left. Hanging up, he continued at a faster pace back to the house, dread growing in his stomach with each step.

Sprinting through the confusing streets, Dick only now realised just how far he had walked. The wind had picked up pushing the small boy around. Fighting the wind, he pushed his way through an alleyway, but misplaced his footing on a loosened stone, causing him to face plant. Groaning, Dick lifted his head, perfectly time so that a sheet of paper blew straight into his face getting stuck. Pulling it off in frustration, Dick scanned over it, the title having caught his eye. 'Wanted: Tony Zucco'

Tears streamed down Dick's face at the rush of memories. It had only been two weeks, how had he already forgotten?! No, not forgotten, ignored. Pushed the matter aside. The murder of his parents, murdered by a man named Tony Zucco. The man advertised in this exact flyer. He knew this for a fact, he had overhead this 'Tony Zucco' and his Pop Haley talking before the deadly performance. Crying out in anger, Dick shredded up the paper and stood, continuing the long run back to his house. He had yet to get revenge.

Dick's head spun as the blood rushed to his head. Eyes darting around crazily, he failed to orientate himself with his surroundings. Hanging upside down did make it increasingly difficult. His vision was still filled with black splotches, so he decided shutting his eyes would be for the best. His memory was fuzzy, but like a dream, were slowing coming back to him.

_Dick's heartbeat unevenly increased as he approached his house, the dread in his stomach growing. He stopped in front of the flaking door, breathing in deeply, every possible scenario running through his head. As he went to put his sweaty palm on the doorknob, the door swung inwards, opening. An animal-like growl emitting from Jeff's throat, Dick yelped as he was roughly dragged inside. _

_Being dragged down the hall, his feet failing to keep up with the fast pace, Dick hair was gripped harshly by Jeff's hand. His head being swung into the wall, Dick's world went black._

Dick groaned as the sudden headache came on. 'That son of a bitch' he thought harshly, referring to Jeff. Re-opening his eyes at the sound of a deep chuckle, Dick found himself staring at Jeff's face.

Jeff grinned, feeling accomplished. He looked over his artwork, the young boy hung from some old rafters in what was left of a ceiling. He frowned a little at the blood running down the side of the kid's face from where he's smashed his head, before smirking to himself as he thought 'Adds a splash of colour at least'.

A raspy voice sounded from the upside down figure saying, "Why? I haven't done anything wrong"

Jeff grunted, his smirk turning into a displeased frown. "You embarrassed me in front of my wife this morning. She needs to know, in fact everyone needs to realise and learn, that I hold the power."

'Guy with an ego and an apparent reputation huh?' Dick thought to himself as he felt even dizzier from the effort of speaking. "How long?" was all Dick could manage to squeeze out.

"Until tomorrow morning" drawled Jeff's vicious words, that grin growing on his face again. "Don't make it longer now, kid."

Dick internally whined, knowing it was going to be a long night. That is, if he survived that long. 'At least it will give me time to think of a way to get my revenge on Zucco.'


	5. Chapter 5

A soft sawing sound was heard, the sawing of a ropes as they were slowly being cut into two. Dick Grayson's eyes opened with fright knowing where he was and the possible danger he could be in. All he received was a stressed smile from a blonde lady he recognised. Dick visibly relaxed, bringing his thoughts to the odd position he was in. Hanging from old, rotten rafters by a rope tied around your feet, and hands tied behind your back wasn't exactly the most comfortable scenario.

'Don't remember falling asleep, possibly blacked out?' he thought to himself. A collision of his head and the ground brought Dick from his thoughts as he focused on the pain. 'ugh, I think she finished cutting through the ropes'

"Sorry I couldn't bring you down softly, it was the best I could do" the blonde lady, who Dick knew to be Jeff's wife, commented.

"I've had harder falls", Dick replied, sitting up whilst rubbing his aching head, putting on his best grin.

The lady wasted no time for small talk, placing the knife she used to cut the rope in Dick's hands, "Here take this and go, quickly, before Jeff wakes up."

Dick grasped the knife nodding, and stood quickly, swaying as a nauseating sensation overcame him.

'I was upside down longer than I thought, oop now I'm feeling lightheaded' Dick laughed silently to himself grabbing the nearest object to stop himself falling.

The lady felt the child's hands roughly grab her arm. She flinched, though seeing him swaying decided not to pull away. She guided him to the door, leaving him out the front of the house in the twilight of the night.

Dick slumped against the door as he watched his breathe rise up into the cold night air. Gathering his thoughts, he remembered what he had planned to do. 'I believe I should get to know some of the locals, dig up some information on Zucco'.

After an hour or so of walking through the winding streets of Gotham, Dick had already run into many small time gangs. Some encounters had ended in fistfights, others were handled in a more humane way. Thankfully, Dick had the knife the lady had given him, though it didn't seem to serve much purpose when it was five on one. When Dick did manage to get a conversation in, he'd ask about Zucco. No one knew anything on the man, let alone his plans. He needed to find someone higher up on the food chain, someone who's in the thick of it all.

Whilst tossing between where he might find these types of people, be it in the worst or best part of Gotham, Dick failed to notice the group that was tailing him. As he turned down a deserted alleyway, Dick was welcomed with a surprise attack: and old fashioned bat to the face.

He could smell the alcohol, the cigarettes, the sweat. He could feel the eyes from strangers burning into him, though could not see them. The blindfold stopped that. He could taste the blood in his mouth that had run down from his forehead, after being hit by the bat. 'Shit that hurts' Dick thought.

An icy voice spoke out, interrupting the silence. "So, kid, what do you happen to be doing out this late at night? No one goes across our territory at this time, well, not without some sort of purpose."

Dick inhaled deeply at an attempt to calm his nerves. He couldn't pinpoint the location of the voice, it just echoed all around him. He spoke up, deciding he'd get nothing out of staying silent, "Tony Zucco."

"Not too sure I'm catching on kid. Be clearer" came the reply, a hint of impatience breaking through.

"Tony Zucco. That's my purpose. I'm looking-"

"Well look all you want, but you're looking in the wrong place. He doesn't reside here" a snarky voice remarked, cutting Dick off. A voice that came from someone other than the previous speaker.

Dick cleared his throat, clearly annoyed, "I'm looking….for information. His whereabouts, his plans, I want to know everything about him. Am I right to assume you know him, judging by what you're friend said when he rudely cut me off?""

The icy voice of the first man sounded, this time with a small chuckle, "You're smart kid, I'll hand you that. Yeah, I know him, though I don't hand information away for free. Why you wanna know?"

There was a small pause, before a soft murmur emerged, "He murdered my family." The words were spoken with pure hatred.

Dick felt a cool breeze wash over his face as the blindfold was removed. The building they were in was dark, meaning his eyes didn't have to adjust. That being the case, Dick could clearly see the outline of a man standing in front of him. The man had a strong build and short, spiky hair. A toothy grin was plastered on his face, his narrowed eyes glinting in the moonlight.

"Let's see what we can work with here then shall we?"

After being escorted to a private room, Dick was left alone with the man. Taking a seat in a nearby chair, Dick made another attempt at calming his nerves. 'These people are dangerous, what am I doing?! Well, I guess I did want to find a higher up gang, and this is the best chance at getting information about Zucco I have! Oh well, here goes nothing'

"Quiet a personal matter you have there kid, I have a feeling you'd be pretty willing to do anything for the information" came the snide remark from the man.

"Don't get cocky, it all depends on the quality of the information" sneered Dick in reply, his face scrunching up in slight anger. 'I'm not totally desperate, I haven't exhausted all my resources yet you know!'

"See, that's why I let you live kid! You're smart, well you know, for you're age. You could be useful, got the mind of a criminal" reasoned the man. "The information on Zucco I hold is something I'm betting you'll want pretty badly" conveyed the man, his voice softening with each word, ending in a sinister whisper.

Dick's eyes narrowed, still unsure. He could feel the sweat run down the back of his neck, his heart speeding up as the man stood up and walked closer. The man kneeled down next to Dick whispering into his ear.

"I know the location and information of a trade-off that's passing between some of Zucco's people and a high-up gang. And Zucco will be personally attending."

Dick's mind focused on those words. The fantastic news whispered into his ear: He's found what he'd been looking for. In all the excitement, Dick forgot a main point.

"So what will you be willing to do to get this information?"

His blood ran cold. He still had to bargain his way through this, it wasn't over yet.

Taking a few moments to gain his composure, Dick put on his signature grin, replying, "Depends what you're price is." Dick's grin faltered slightly as the man's eyes gleamed with interest, and another emotion Dick couldn't quiet identify.

The older male stood, pacing around the room. There was silence for quite a few long minutes. Silence filled with thoughts and unspoken words. A time to think, plan out the next actions and chain of events. Finally, the man spun around clearing his throat.

"My price…..so many options. I could ask for money, your body, for you to join my gang, a favour, information. The list goes on" came the all too happy voice of the man.

Dick flinched slightly at the mention of his body, though kept a straight face thoroughly thinking through his options. Not too certain on how to handle this, he decided to say silent and let the man share more of his thoughts.

"No? well then, how about this. I have an errand I need to do, maybe you could do it for me instead?"

Dick took a moment before replying, thinking over his choice of words, "Is there any particular reason you would not want to complete this errand yourself?"

The man grinned replying, "It's a bit more on the illegal side, and I'd rather not get my hands dirty. You see, we have some unfinished business with a local gang. This…errand…would involve you destroying their gathering place"

Dick raised an eyebrow at this uncertain if he really wanted to get involved.

The man frowned a little at the lack of response, but continued on anyway, "Look kid, I give you all the information I know on Zucco, you set some explosives up in warehouse 16 and blow it up. That's my offer"

Dick looked over the man, assessing him uncertainly. 'I have no choice, clearly no one around here knows anything about Zucco, this guy's my only shot.'

Sighing slightly, Dick locked eyes with the man, "It's a deal, but, you give me the information first. Who knows, I might not see you again if I get chased away by cops"

The man nodded his head in approval and stuck out his hand, Dick grabbing it and giving it a firm shake. "Kid, you have a deal."

Their conversation continued well into the night. The man, who Dick discovered was called Isaac, shared with him all the information he had on Zucco. From the location of this meet-up Isaac had previously mentioned: Warehouse 16 by the docks. To the deal taking place: A weapons trade. After all information was shared, they got to discussing the 'errand' Dick still needed to complete.

Isaac pulled out a map containing a floor plan of the building.

"No one is currently occupying the building, since the gang is attending to other matters. That doesn't mean this won't still be dangerous, so be careful and don't get caught. Memorise these plans and get the job done" Isaac said in a serious tone.

'Maybe this is more dangerous than I thought?' Dick thought growing slightly worried. He took the plan and looked over them carefully, already mapping out the route he'd take and where to place the explosives. 'If I enter on the south side, I'll be near the stairs. I can then head to the underground section, where there seems to be some support columns…perfect! I can set the explosives there…'

Isaac studied the kid, he could tell he was already planning. He laughed slightly thinking about how he really did have the mind of a criminal, even if he didn't even know it himself.

"Hey kid, pass me your phone. I'll giveyou my number, so if anything turns out drastically bad, give me a call" Isaac said, flashing Dick a grin.

Dick nodded, not taking his eyes off the plans and chucked Isaac his phone. Few moments later, he had it back in his hand.

"Any particular time I have to get this done by?" Dick asked.

"tonight."


	6. Chapter 6

His adrenaline pumped through his veins. A natural high. The beats of his pounding heart echoed with each step. Dick grinned at the feeling, he loved the sense of danger. It reminded him of when he was performing at the circus. He skidded to a stop, his breath exiting unevenly. Staying close to the metal walls, practically sliding against them, Dick inched closer towards the window he'd planned to enter. 'I think this is the window on the plans? Should be a stairwell nearby once I enter.'

Dick stopped directly underneath it, and hoisting himself up onto the window sill, smashed the glass. Climbing through, he cut himself on some rough shards of glass poking out. 'Ah crap.' Dropping to the floor in a crouch, he looked around observing his surrounds. 'Staircase? I can't see it.' Cautiously walking forward, Dick blinked furiously in an attempt to get his eyes adjusted to the dark. The next step he took caught him by surprise however. 'Where'd the floor go?'

Falling down the staircase he'd previously been searching for, Dick's arms reached to grab onto anything he could. Landing hard on the ground, Dick groaned out in pain. 'Hey look, I found the stairs. Definitely going to bruise.'

Dick stood dusting himself up and looked around. 'Okay now my eyes have finally adjusted, a little late might I add, I can search for those God damn columns.'

Blending into the darkness, Dick scoured the room locating all of the columns. Pulling out a set of small explosives, he attached one to each column. 'Judging from the plans, these should be supporting the entire building..' he thought to himself, looking around the room. 'Probably should get out of here before I blow this place sky high'. Running back through the building to the window, Dick stealthily exited the building, though he let out a cry of surprise to what awaited him.

Flashing blue and red lights lit up the narrow street, as Dick hid the explosive's remote and stepped forward confidently. "Good evening officers, anything I can do for you?" Dick spoke uneasily, plastering on a fake smile. He looked around, taking in the gathering of police cars and men that surrounded him.

"Yeah kid, you can tell us why you're breaking and entering into this warehouse. Before you ask, you set off an alarm when you smashed that window" informed the officer in a harsh tone, stepping closer to Dick.

'Rookie mistake, ah I'm an idiot!' Dick thought, mentally face palming, as he gulped and grinned sheepishly, "well I'm kind of in the middle of a job you see, so if you don't mind me finishing" at that, Dick pressed the button on the remote. An eruption of heat on his back and a shock wave flinging him forwards, Dick flew into the police officer, though he didn't wait for the man to process what was happening. A rain of debre poured down as Dick chanced a quick look back to admire his work and sprinted off, using the distraction to his advantage.

After only a few minutes of flat out sprinting, Dick's ears were filled with the whirring of sirens. They were coming for him. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead as he thought of what might happen to him if he was caught. 'I can't believe I smashed the window, I just can't! Stupid stupid stupid. Imagine Barbara's reaction..wait what? Why am I thinking of Babs at a time like this?!'

Sighing dramatically, Dick skidded around a corner, running at top speed and slammed into something solid. Rebounding onto the ground, he put a hand to his face cradling his now bleeding nose.

"What the hel-" he began saying, before he looked up to see what blocked his path. His surprise stopped his voice working midway through his sentence as there stood the almighty Batman in front of him. Dick swore he saw a ghost of a smirk on his face.

"Last time I saw you the orphanage had blown up, what's happened now?" Dick began, wanting to finish this fast as he heard sirens approaching.

"You blew up a warehouse" came the gruff reply.

"You only show up for explosions do you? Look I don't have much time, none at all really, so if you don't mind-"

"What's your name?" cut through the voice of batman, stopping Dick's sentence.

Dick closed his mouth giving an untrusting look to the other. "Richard Grayson, and you are?"

The slightest frown appeared on the older male's face, replying with "Batman". Grunting to himself, he swished his cape and disappeared.

"I meant your actual name" Dick laughed to himself, before that laughter turned into a squeal as a hand covered his mouth. Looking up, Dick noticed only now the police men, and cars, blocking his exits. Sighing in defeat, he allowed himself to be escorted to a car and roughly shoved inside.

* * *

Shivering in his temporary cell, Dick grumbled noisily to himself. After sitting there for two hours, he was definitely bored. Barbara had turned up earlier, to which he actually got to see her reaction to his idiotic-ness.

~ Hands cuffed behind his back, Dick walked calmly into the police station, a few police officers as his escorts. He looked around the building as they walked through, before being shoved into a cell. Humming contently, he made an attempt at getting comfortable on the 'bed'. Closing his eyes, he stayed unmoving for a few moments before the sound of boots interrupted his thoughts.

An all too familiar voice spoke out saying, "I knew you were the type for trouble"

There stood on the other side of the bars Jim Gordon.

"Especially with how rough you've had it the past few weeks. So tell me Richard, what made you blow up an entire warehouse?"

Dick raised his eyebrows at the sound of his actual name being used.

"Well, sir, I was in for the thrill of it, the adrenaline rush!" Dick over exaggeratedly stated, chuckling to himself and relaxing ever so slightly.

"Secretive type huh? I see, well don't get too comfy, we've called you're foster father to come pick you up."

Dick choked on something in that moment, didn't matter what, leaving him coughing and sputtering violently. He grimaced at the thought of Jeff being given a reason to punish him.

His mood lightened at the arrival of a certain red head however.

Barbra fluttered into the room, calling out, "Dad I've arrived, you said you caught a cute one?"

She ran to the cells peering in, locking eyes with Dick. Startled, she jumped back slightly. "Dick?! What are you doing here?"

Gordon walked up next to his daughter replying for Dick, "He blew up a building. I told you not to come Barbara!"

Looking to her father she grinned, before turning back to Dick and looking him up and down, "well you didn't lie about him being a cute."

Grinning widely at the comment, Dick stood up heading over to the bars. "Hey Babs, long time no see. I was just completing a demolition job I was given, no big deal."

"How'd you get caught?" Barbara quizzically asked.

Dick replied rubbing the back of his neck, "I smashed a window, it triggered an alarm."

"Barbara, home, now. I have work to do" Gordon ground out ushering his daughter, who was laughing hysterically, out of the room.~

Now completely alone, Dick sighed aloud. At that moment, the door flung open, causing Dick to flinch knowing who it was. Squeezing his eyes shut, he braced for cruel, vulgar words to be spat out of Jeff's mouth. What sounded, however, was a voice belonging to a different person.

"You're foster parent, Jeff, called saying for us to punish you accordingly" Gordon informed Dick. Dick's featured brightened, mentally cheering.

"I'm sorry to say, but this means you're going to have to spend some time in the Juvenile Detention Centre"

At those words, Dick shuddered, a look of horror washing over his face. He'd heard plenty about jail, enough to know he would most likely enjoy it even less than a heart-to-heart with Jeff.

* * *

Hey everyone, sorry It's been a while since the last update, hope this chapter was worth the wait!


	7. Chapter 7

Ch 7

Scraping metal-on-metal. That was the first thing Dick's ears heard when he was awakened from his slumber. Glancing to his left, squinting from the intrusion of light, Dick identified the source: a rusting set of keys being dragged along the bars of the cell.

"Rise and shine boy" boomed the voice Jim Gordon

Dick rolled off the 'bed' with a groan, catching himself right before he hit the ground. Swaying slightly as he stood up, Dick walked over to the door of the cell and leant against it.

Glancing up and locking eyes with Jim, he sarcastically replied, "The keys were a better wake-up call than your voice" finishing with a childish grin.

The ends of Jim's lips tugged up into a half smirk as he swung open the door to the cell, causing Dick to fall down practically face-planting into the floor, his senses impaired from being half-asleep. Rolling onto his back, Dick breathed out heavily before getting off the floor, sending a frown towards Jim's general direction. Jim walked over to the still dazed boy and issued a firm grip to his arm, pulling him towards the exit of the Police Station.

"Hope you had a goodnight's sleep, probably be the best one you'll have for the next week, maybe two if you're unlucky enough" spoke Jim, casting his eyes over the boy's dishevelled hair and droopy eyes.

Dick managed to mumble a soft reply of "Safest sleep I've had in a long time" before thinking to himself 'With no abusive roommate or foster parent in sight.'

* * *

Once again becoming re-acquainted with the leather in the back of the police car, Dick cast his eyes to the sky with thoughts of simply flying away passing through his mind. All jokes aside, he was not looking forward to Juvie. He was about to discover a whole other side of Gotham, a side he was not mentally stable enough to face. A large shadow was cast over the car as Jim pulled up in front of the Detention Centre.

"A box of concrete surrounded by barb wire. Fun" whispered Dick under his breathe.

The door he had been momentarily leaning on disappeared on his left, leaving Dick to literally fall out of the car.

"That is the second fucking time today! Do you mind?!" rang out Dick's pissed-off voice, before he stood up dusting himself off.

Jim didn't reply, in fact Jim Gordon completely ignored the child throwing a mini-tantrum beside him as he cast his eyes towards the gloomy building before them. Once again grabbing Dick's arm, he began trudging towards the building, each step causing more sorrow to build in his chest. The boy would not return the same from this 'visit'.

* * *

Dick was shocked at the tremendous amount of security checks he had to pass before being admitted. The amount of scanners he had to pass through, amount of hands had patted him down (a few not so innocently) and seemingly endless supply of buff security guards was just overwhelming. He felt as though he had just committed the most hateful crime in the world, and now the entire world was staring him down. Also coping a feel whenever it got the chance.

Finally breathing out now it was over, Dick found a bright orange rag being shoved into his hands. 'Really is just like in the movies' he thought to himself.

"Hurry up kid, we don't got all day just for you princess" sneered one of the guard's.

Dick looked at him quizzically before asking, "Hang on, you want me to change here, now?"

The guard glanced around the room, eyes scanning over the other 5 occupants, before answering with his short reply of "Yes".

Attempting to swallow the lump in his throat, Dick began changing as quickly as possible. He could feel all eyes on him, and usually he would enjoy the attention being a performer and all, though these looks were different. This was attention he was receiving for all the wrong reasons. A few catcalls were issued for the split-second he was in only his boxers, before a few disappointed sighs were heard as he pulled on the orange-jumpsuit.

The guard who Dick had been conversing with early took a hold of Dick's arm, escorting him to the holding cells.

"Welcome to your new home, remember to play nice" growled out the guard as he shoved Dick into an occupied cell.

Dick swung violently into the cell, the guard having not been too gentle, though his landing was relatively soft. Maybe a little bony.

"Hey punk, get the fuck off me!" squeaked the voice of a teen, clearly annoyed at the intrusion. Dick quickly jumped up and off of said person, before he turned to face his cell-mate.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue? Why are you staring at me like that? Got a problem?!" exclaimed Dick's new cellmate, his voice rising with anger.

Dick took a step back as he looked over his cellmate: A boy only a few years younger than him it would seem, relatively similar build to himself adorning the same orange jumpsuit, though the feature that caught Dick's eye was the white streaks in the front of his hair. The younger male quirked up his eyebrows as he, too, gave Dick a once-over.

"First time here I see, you know, judging from that scaredy-cat stance of yours. Gotta hold your head high, otherwise your ass will be beat before the end of today. Name's Jason Todd by the way, who might you be?"

"Di-Richard Grayson" Dick replied, coughing slightly to cover-up his mistake. He did not need those jokes happening here.

"Well _Dick_, I mean that is the nickname for Richard right? How did you land yourself here?" smirked Jason in response.

Dick straightened up, looking down on the younger boy, "Blew up a warehouse, and you? You look a little young don't you?"

Jason's eyes widened for a split second, before he covered up his surprise, putting back on his cocky-expression, "High-jacked a car, didn't think you were here for something so extreme! I'm betting we'll get along just fine. There's a few things you need to kn-"

A high pitched dinging had Dick's hands shooting towards his ears in order to protect them from such a harsh sound, cutting off Jason's advice.

"Everyone get your skinny, good for nothing asses into your beds now. It's lights out time" yelled a guard from down the hall.

Dick jumped at the sudden, booming voice, though Jason had no reaction at all. 'He's probably used to it' Dick deducted as he crawled under the rag that served as his blanket, a top the hard, lumpy 'mattress'. 'Doesn't get much better than this' came Dick's sarcastic thoughts, right before Jason began snoring like there was no tomorrow. Dick groaned rolling over and facing the wall of the cell, hands cupped around his ears, 'apparently I was wrong. It gets so much better.'


	8. Chapter 8

He's running. Always running. It's honestly never ending, he wants to stop but his body has a mind of its own. He hates himself for running, not stopping and fighting, protecting those he abandoned in his haste. He's still running, but somehow manages to turn his head and look over his shoulder. Immediately his eyes widen and his breathing hitches, heartrate speeding up. He's running from the broken bodies of his parents and the blown-up bodies from the orphanage, and now suddenly he doesn't want to stop. Coming up to a crowd he pushes past. All the people surrounding him, the familiar faces like Barbara, Jim, Jeff's wife, hell even batman all mocking him. Failure. Pathetic. Coward. All your fault. These words playing like a continuous loop in Dick's mind, slowly breaking him down until he's only pathetically crawling through the crowd. Dick knows he's crying even if he can't feel it, he can see the tears dripping onto the concrete. Silently he prays this nightmare will end, and he knows it's a nightmare, completely aware of that fact! Doesn't lessen the pain however.

"RRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNG"

Dick bolts upright, his bangs stuck to his forehead with sweat as the clear details of the nightmare flashes through his mind. Shaking his head to clear his mind and rubbing his face to clear his eyes from those very real tears, Dick stands shuddering. Jason, he notes, is still snoring as loudly as ever.

'How does one even sleep through that alarm?' Dick ponders to himself as he stretches out his body, best imitating a cat.

He's in the middle of poking Jason, his extremely loud cellmate, to test how much it took to wake up the heavy sleeper when the familiar sound of a metal bat being dragged across the metal of cell bars is heard.

'Only familiar because it is the most cliché thing in movies ever!' sighs Dick as he covers his ears in an attempt to protect himself from the disruptive noise.

"Time to get up ladies, your beauty sleep is over!" shouted the guard currently dragging said metal bat across said metal bars, somehow still being heard over the noise.

Dick was still very impressed by the fact Jason _still _hadn't even twitched. However, that impressiveness soon turned to slight hate once the guard reached their cell and also noticed the younger boy hadn't woken up. A loud attack on the metal bars of the cell was issued by the bat, accompanied by the booming voice of the guard screaming to "GET OFF YO LAZY FAT ASS". It was only then that Jason's head flew up at the sudden increase in volume, and no sooner had it risen had a groan escaped the boy followed by his head falling back into his pillow with a 'thunk'.

Dick snickered before standing and awaiting near the cell door patiently as it was opened, and the guards ushering everyone to the showers.

* * *

When he first entered through the magical portal, also known as a doorway, that teleported him into the room of showers, Dick didn't know what to expect. It's not exactly like he's had a great past with shared showers, proven by his persistent bully Terry from the orphanage, thus Dick was secretly terrified of sharing a shower with most of the Juvie's occupants.

His first step into the room left him with an increased heartbeat and a strange noise escaping his throat that sounded as though he was being strangled. This was not because someone had come up and suddenly attacked him like he expected, no, it was because the floor was _extremely_ slippery which resulted in Dick having a near death experience as he slipped over. Only near death however, because luckily his cellmate Jason was there for him to fall on top of. Dick breathed out placing his hand over his heart as a makeshift way to settle it, though this failed as he was suddenly pushed into the air by the surprisingly strong boy underneath him. Jason, who had been momentarily cut off from his air supply, was currently yelling out a string of curses at Dick as he picked himself up off the ground and made his way to the showers.

Dick, a small laugh escaping his lips, followed Jason as he realised he had no idea where to go or what to do. Turning a corner to the locker room, Dick was suddenly faced with the most disturbing scene of his life: A men's locker room. Dick thought his mind was not so innocent anymore after all he had experienced, however that was before he saw the mass amounts of naked teenage boys _everywhere_, only now missing the time when he hadn't seen that sight. He did not even dare glance in the direction of the open showers where he was 100% sure he could hear the sounds of people jacking off. In fact, Dick just decided to close his eyes entirely, spare himself the scarring view.

That idea had been successful up until the point Jason, who Dick was still following, had abruptly stopped in front of his allocated locker and had subsequently caused Dick to stumble into him.

"Hey, Dick, I've been closer to you in one day than I would've liked in a lifetime, so please keep contact with me to a minimum. As in never" Jason spoke out harshly, cutting through the daze Dick was in. "By the way, you're locker is on the other side of the room. Oh and be careful, some of the guys here get bored" warned Jason, before he turned back to his locker, supposedly grabbing all the supplies needed for his shower.

Dick nodded not fully understanding Jason's warning and almost robotically began walking to the other side of the room, locating the battered locker with his name on it.

Opening it, Dick observed the items inside. 'New orange jumpsuit, boxers, one cheap bottle of hair products and a bar of soap…..ew is that a hair?! Now for probably the worst shower of my life' thought Dick, already dreading standing naked in a room full of criminals.

After 10 painful minutes of undressing (which earned him a few catcalls), waiting for a shower to be free and fending off thieves attempting to steal his soap, all the while doing his best to ignore the wandering hands of a few passer-by's, Dick successfully accomplished his mission to shower without too much disturbance. 

After being escorted to the cafeteria, Dick only then realised how he was starving. God knows how long it's been since he ate! 'Feels like more than a day' Dick depressingly thought to himself as he followed behind Jason, once again, to the line for food.

Standing there patiently, Dick suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and instantly knew there was someone looking for trouble behind him. Not one second later did he hear a rough voice next to his ear.

"Look at the new kid right here, nice legs you have there. Reckon they'd look even better wrapped around my waist as I-"

"You are picking a fight with the wrong mentally-fucked up kid here" growled out Dick, having cut-off the older boy as he definitely didn't want him to finish that sentence.

The older boy simply placed his hands on Dick's hips and rutted up against him as he whispered "The crazier the better, they tend to scream louder"

Dick felt his anger flare up, as well as his disgust at the boy touching him, and found himself suddenly spinning around and kneeing this kid in the crotch. He watched him double over in pain, but didn't stop there. Soon after Dick's knee also found itself smashing into the guy's chin, with Dick grabbing the front of his shirt as he flew up from the momentum of the hit, and suddenly flipping him through the air and smashing him into a table nearby.

'Holy shit did I just do that?' Dick thought to himself, shocked at his actions and sudden strength. Turning to look at the stunned faces staring wide-eyed at him, Dick cleared his throat and awkwardly made his way past the line of people and collected his food (taking the opportunity of the crowd's momentary confusion), before walking to the farthest corner of the cafeteria and sitting. The guy who Dick had smashed into a table was groaning in pain as he attempted to sit up, before giving up and collapsing back onto the table.

Dick ate his meal uninterrupted, silently praising himself for fighting back for once in his life. 'I finally stopped running' he thought, having a mini celebration in his mind.

Lost in thoughts, Dick hadn't noticed the small group of four people who had sat at his table, all having their attention focused on him. The tallest of them all, who had long blonde hair that'd been tied back into a ponytail, cleared his throat. That action snapped Dick out of his dazed state, and jumping a little, he took in the group's appearance.

"Hi new kid, we're the gang Mamba. That's me Luke, Purple-haired chick to your left Afura, buff-guy Ronan next to Afura, and geek-kid Tim next to me. You, friend, caught our interest with your little performance this morning" spoke the tallest of the group, Luke, in a slight British accent.

Dick coughed roughly and leaned forward staring them all fiercely in the eye before speaking, "And what can I do for a gang like you?"

Afura spoke this time, Dick picking up on an African accent, "We wish for you to contribute your skills to this group, become an ally. In exchange, we offer information, training and safety. We are quite high up in the pecking-order here."

Dick, thinking over their offer, nodded his head slowly before replying, "Yeah, it's a good start for now, I can agree to that"

"So what do you go by kid?"

"Robin"

With that response, Luke held out his hand and Dick shook it, sealing the agreeance with wide smiles.


	9. Chapter 9

CH9

'Two weeks, two weeks, that's all I have to survive, two weeks, two weeks, two weeks' this thought in his head repeated, set on a constant loop. Dick was currently pissed off at the situation he was in, being unable to stop the pouring rain soaking his, currently, only set of clothes.

'Who even thought sending us inmates outside when it's freakin' storming was a good idea anyway?! And why does no one else seem bothered by this?!'

Jason, seeing the state the older male was in, decided top tease him a little. "Hey Dick, cool off a bit, every raindrop that's touching you is turning to steam with your current mood!" he shouted as he walked over to him, also seeking shelter below the small overhang of the roof.

"That or you just called me hot" replied Dick with a smirk covering his face, causing Jason to roll his eyes at his cellmate's antics because 'This kid is too cocky for his own good!'

"Hey Jason, why is no one else seemingly bothered by the fact they are being drenched in water right now?" questioned Dick as he glanced over the small outdoor area, filled with benches, grass and gym equipment. Oh, can't forget the towering fences with intimidating looking barbed-wire on top.

"Used to it" came the short reply from Jason who shrugged and decided that he was not being sheltered from the rain at all where he stood, choosing to walk towards a bench to take a seat instead.

Dick, also noting the roof was doing nothing to shield him from the storm, followed after Jason, laying across the bench and staring up into the sky. This peaceful moment only lasted so long however, because suddenly a stray raindrop landed in his eye, which had Dick sitting up as fast as humanly possible whilst yelling out in pain. Hand rubbing at his eye in an attempt to ease the sting, Dick sighed knowing today had not been the best. Jason, who had been sitting next to him and observing all this occur, immediately burst out laughing, clutching at his stomach as he couldn't believe the stupidity of what just happened.

"Jason you asshole, quit laughing man that hurt like shit"

"Not as much as staring at your face hurts" replied Jason at an attempted insult

"Is my beauty too much to handle for your mundane eyes?" Dick quipped, accompanied by a professional hair flick

Shaking his head in annoyance, yet still with a smile on his face, Jason stood and began walking towards the recently opened doors that led inside the juvie centre.

"You're too cocky for your own good Grayson!" shouted Jason over his shoulder as he entered the building, being engulfed by its warmth.

Dick, feeling a strong wind pick up, followed after, running inside as quickly as he could. When he entered, he found himself already lost within the crowd of boys with no guide in sight. 'Where the fuck do I go now?'

Slithering through the crowd, he managed to get to a corner of the room ('Small-ass room that's clearly too tiny to hold this many fucking people at once!') where he could breathe. With just enough room to be almost comfortable, Dick closed his eyes for a moment to stop himself from being overwhelmed. However, overhearing a conversation close by, Dick's eyes opened wide in fear.

"Hey, that's the kid that beat up our leader in the cafeteria"

"Think we should show him where he belongs"

"You don't just beat up a member of our gang and get away with it"

What Dick opened his eyes to were 3 guys a few years older than him with a much stronger-build than him.

'Strong build, but probably dumb as fuck! I mean, that guy has drool escaping from the side of his mouth, dude that is so gross' thought Dick as he assessed the group before him.

"Okay, I understand you might be upse-"

A strong, well-aimed punch landed across his jaw. 'Ow shit, that's just fucking rude, didn't even let me finish'

Snickers could be heard before the sound of another solid hit to Dick's face. The first hit having thrown him back into the wall behind him, and the second causing him to drop to the floor. Dick's clouded mind couldn't find an escape route just yet, but soon after all thoughts of escape were pushed from his mind when he felt a harsh pull on his hair, forcing him to stand up.

"Punishment is a good form of discipline, isn't it kid?" spoke the guy holding him, before spitting on Dick's face

Dick scrunched up his face in disgust, thinking to himself 'I probably have 5 new diseases now, and I'm not okay with it'

Being unable to handle the pain of having his hair nearly ripped from his skull much longer, Dick began attempted to squirm out of the other's grip, all the while yelling out in pain. After a few moments, Dick found himself falling face first into the ground, having been released from the strong grip. Not quite knowing what happened, he rolled onto his back looking around. What he saw surprised him, as when he looked up there was the gang Mamba towering over him with their leader offering a hand. Gladly taking said hand, Dick was pulled to his feet though a little unsteady.

"Wait, I blinked, what happened?" escaped Dick's confused voice

"I said we provide safety, well here's your safety Robin!" spoke Luke, as he gestured at the 3 guys now sprawled across the floor in varying degrees of pain.

Despite his beat-up face, Dick managed a smile and a soft chuckle before sinking back down to the ground as a wave of nausea hit.

* * *

This safety net wouldn't always work however, as Dick found out the hard way a few days later.

* * *

It had been a few days since Dick had set foot in the juvenile detention centre of Gotham. A rough few days at that, but thankfully having made allies early had greatly benefitted him, and also allowed him to gain quite a bit of access and knowledge into the underground workings of Gotham. From gangs to corrupted companies. In these few days he had surprisingly only been beaten up 3 times, all on the first day at that, living peacefully for the couple of days that followed. This was all thanks to those allies mentioned earlier, however, this bubble of security could not last forever as Dick discovered one day in the shower rooms.

Having half become used to sights that lay before his eyes in the shower room, Dick could now semi-comfortably navigate through the aisles of steam and sweat. Coming to a stop in front of his locker that held the day's set of clothes that magically appeared every morning, he quickly stripped and grabbed the essentials before moving to a free shower stall.

Turning on the shower he stepped underneath the flowing stream, allowing his sense to be clouded by the rushing water. Although, letting your guard down for even a second in such a place is just asking for trouble. These were the thoughts Dick had as soon as he was aggressively shoved up against the shower wall.

"Hey pretty boy, I have a favour to ask of you" spoke a low voice directly next to Dick's ear.

Dick, squirming in an attempt to escape the other's grip whilst still acutely aware that there was something hard pressed against his lower back, spat back "Why don't you let me go and I can see what I can do for you, like punching that ugly face of yours. Could use a makeover"

The guy, clearly unimpressed, spun Dick around and pushed him down until he was kneeling.

"Suck you slut"

Dick gulped, staring at what was presented before him. Something he never wanted to see up close and personal. 'Aren't I underage or something' he thought to himself. Looking up, he locked-eyes with his attacker giving him an are-you-fucking-serious? Look.

"Did I stutter? Suck! And don't even think about biting or I won't hesitate to do permanent damage to that pretty face of yours."

Dick, closing his eyes, thought out his options. 'Shit, I'm still feeling like crap from the beatings of day 1, can't take another right now. There's only a few people left in the showers, so no dramatic rescue this time, and this guy is twice my size! Option 3 it is then'. Resigning to his fate, he leant forward and took the guy's member into his mouth, or as much as he could handle anyway.

Immediately he felt rough hands grip his hair as he heard the other groan loudly. 'Well at least those hands aren't wrapped around my throat' Dick thought, as he sucked and licked and bobbed his head up and down his attacker's length.

"Fuck, I didn't know you were this good pretty boy" moaned the taller one as he thrusted into the other's mouth.

Dick who was not able to handle the action, gagged, being unable to fully recover as the boy didn't stop his movements. 'Oh shit, I'm gonna throw-up' crossed Dick's mind as his mouth was abused, the other male's thrusting increasing in speed as his pleasure began to peak.

Not taking too long, he soon climaxed with his dick still in the 'pretty boy's' mouth. Breathing heavily, he looked down to the sight of Dick doubled-over, spitting out his cum and dry-heaving on the tiles of the shower's floor. "Thanks for the favour, can't wait for next time pretty boy"

Dick knew the other male was gone without having to look up, having heard his footsteps leaving the shower-room. With shaky legs, he leant against the wall of the shower for support as he stood up.

'My throat hurts. My head hurts. I feel like shit' he thought to himself as he unwillingly thought over the events that just happened. Sinking back down to the floor, Dick curled himself up into a ball as he allowed the sobs to take over his body.


	10. Chapter 10

10 minutes. 10 minutes had passed since Dick had started crying. His body shivering from the cold air that surrounded his naked figure, goose bumps covering his arms and legs as Dick sat there in the shower with the water still running. Even if said water continued to get colder. The energy and life seemingly drained from his body, he couldn't even look up to acknowledge the guard that now stood looking over him, the guard that came in to sweep through the washroom searching for any stragglers.

"Come on kid, everyone else is already out for breakfast, get a move one"

Peeking through a gap in his hands, Dick looked up at the guard with pleading eyes. In response, the guard sneered at him before roughly taking hold of his arms and forcefully lifting him off the shower's floor, dragging Dick to his locker.

"Put your clothes on and get out! That or you go out with no clothes on"

Flinching slightly at the harsh voice and cringing at the thought of being stark naked at breakfast, Dick silently slipped on his clothes. The guard who was pleased that an inmate was following directions once again roughly grabbed Dick's arm, enjoying his position of power, and dragging him outside of the bathrooms began heading towards the cafeteria. Dick hung his head low, eyes focused on the floor and bangs covering his face as he allowed himself to be pulled along, his self-confidence having hit a record low.

As they entered the room immediately all eyes focused on Dick who kept his gaze on the floor effectively ignoring all the sudden attention. The seconds ticked by as everyone watched the odd behaviour as though expecting something to happen, however the eyes slowly began looking away as they lost interest.

Dick stood there at the edge of the room, unmoving, as he thought about how he wanted nothing but to disappear, to hide underneath the crappy blanket on is crappy bed. Jason, the only person to have not lost interest in Dick's odd behaviour, slowly began weaving his way through the crowd as he made his way to the unmoving boy.

Grabbing his shoulder and shaking them lightly, Jason spoke, "Dick, what's up? Why are you not getting breakfast? Why are you staring at the ground? Come on man you're not even blinking! At least look at me while I'm talking, it's rude not to you know"

At that, Dick moved the most he had in the last few minutes as he lifted his head just enough to make eye contact with Jason through his hair that fell over his eyes. Jason frowned, pushing Dick's hair away from his eyes as he stated, "You need a haircut"

Dick cracked the smallest smile, finding enough energy to swipe Jason's hand away. Jason laughed lightly at this, glad to finally see some sort of response from the older male. Shaking his head, Jason took hold of Dick's wrist and dragged him to a free table. Sitting down, he observed the other who was usually full of energy and witty-comebacks but who now seemed lost in their own mind. "So, what happened to you? You look like crap"

Groaning, Dick replied as he laid his head on the table, "You don't have to be that straightforward about my looks you know"

Jason grinned. "Wow I got an entire sentence out of you! I'm amazed, wasn't sure I'd be able to do it"

Dick opened his mouth to reply, a witty-comment on the tip of his tongue, but was cut off by the bell that signalled everyone was about to move outside. Jumping up as soon as he heard the bell, Jason quickly ran towards the doors leading outside, yelling back a quick "We'll talk later Dick!"

As soon as Jason was out of sight, Dick's mood immediately dropped and his energy suddenly felt drained. With no Jason to distract him, Dick's problems came crashing back down, a huge weight suddenly pinning him down. Standing slowly, Dick followed the crowd out into the yard.

* * *

When Dick exited the heated building and entered the prison's yard, the last thing he was expecting was a mist that engulfed the area, making it difficult to see more than a few meters in front of you. Not wanting to lose his way in the fog, Dick decided to just follow the fence that surrounded the yard. (Besides, sticking to the edges means he might be able to avoid bumping into anyone)

Walking along the perimeter of the outdoor area, Dick stopped when he found a corner with a bench. Smiling to himself he laid across it, stretching out his body and closing his eyes. 'Might just thank today's cloud cover as this means I can get some privacy and be hidden from the others for a while.'

Breathing deeply and enjoying this moment of peace, how he was in a way invisible and hidden from the world for a moment, Dick allowed the smallest smile creep across his face.

That smile lasted until he heard a voice speak, a voice that was much closer to him than he liked.

"The little brat is all by himself hidden away in a corner, how convenient"

Then another voice spoke up somewhere close-by as well

"I heard some people refer to you as 'Robin', so we decided to call you something similar, how does that sound bird boy?"

Dick could feel the cool sweat appearing on the back of his neck now. He thought he was safe in the fog, he let down his guard. Just like he let his guard down in the shower.

"What? No smart-ass comment? It's a shame, would have given us a reason to beat you up"

"But in truth, we don't need a reason. Your existence is a reason enough"

Dick gave up at that point. He had no strength or will to fight back.

He felt the first blow as knuckles buried themselves in his stomach, which made him fall off the bench and left him doubled-over in pain on the grass. Attempting to take deep breathes and spitting out the blood accumulating in his mouth, Dick regretted his choice of giving up.

He felt the second hit as someone's shoe stomped on his chest full force, hearing a crack. Pain radiated from his chest causing him to scream out, even if it was against his will.

He definitely felt the third blow as someone rolled him over and twisted him arm backwards with all their strength, surely breaking it. He couldn't really feel that arm now, numb with pain in a way. Only tears escaped this time.

After that he didn't feel too much since the pain from the first 3 blows covered the rest, however he knew he would feel it later.

From the haze their attacks left Dick in, he does remember someone rolled him back over whilst sitting on top of him and repeatedly punching him in the face. He remembers being picked up and shoved against the fence before being thrown into the bench. He thinks he broke it. He remembers how guards suddenly came running to his aid, apparently having heard the ruckus. He remembers the angry faces of the boys as they were pushed away from him, and how he was picked up and moved to the nurses section of the prison. That's all he remembers, as after all that he finally blacked out.

Not before he decided that today just wasn't his day.

* * *

Waking up was not a pleasant ordeal for Dick.

First gaining consciousness, he realised he could still (Thankfully) feel all his limbs, but this was only because they burned with pain that left him wanting to squirm around on the bed. Opening his eyes wasn't much better he found out the hard way when bright white lights greeted him, shooting pain through his eyes and amplifying his already-present headache. His body then attempted to sit up, going into autopilot, with Dick regretting this choice as the already unbearable pain somehow became more unbearable. This action did however gain the attention of a nurse.

"Lay down sweetie, you could have just gotten my attention by calling out you know"

Dick risked opening his eyes again in order to see the face of the woman who spoke so sweetly with such kind words. A smile was what he witnessed, a genuine smile, which had Dick smiling as well.

"You must be very confused right now! I'm Amanda, I'm also the one looking after you while you recover Mr. Grayson" greeted Amanda, as she smiled at the bruise-covered boy. The boy that looked too young, too innocent to be in a place like this.

"Please, just call me Dick" he croaked out at an attempt to speak, only just realising now how thirsty he was.

The nurse who noticed his predicament quickly held out a glass of water, which Dick took gratefully, slowing sipping at its contents.

"How bad is it?" questioned Dick who spoke in a barely audible voice. He watched as Amanda grabbed her clipboard and began reading.

"You had a dislocated arm and jaw but we already fixed that up for you, and you have a broken rib and a bruised stomach, along with many other bruises covering your body. Not too bad sweetie, but enough to keep you here for a day or two however."

Dick nodded slowly to show he heard her as the feeling of sleep suddenly overcame his body.

* * *

The next time Dick woke up was a day and a half later, the day he was to be moved back to his cell and return to prison life. He was greeted once again by Nurse Amanda, who had him sit up and walk around the room. Yes, he was still pretty out-of-it and the pain was still present, just not as bad as it had been when he first woke-up.

It was later into the night when all the inmates had already been placed in their cells that the escort guards came to take Dick back to his. Walking along the familiar corridors, Dick could only think about the sleep that was calling him. He was so unfocused that when the guards stopped, he bumped straight into their backs.

Stepping back as quickly as he could, Dick smiled sheepishly to the guards who now looked down at him with intimidating stares. That's when Dick noticed something.

"This…This isn't my cell…"

One of the guards stepped forward, opening the door to the cell. "No its not, you have been moved to have your own private cell due to your current injuries."

Dick raised his eyebrows, not too sure if this was a joke or not. His question was answered when the other guard got impatient and decided to push Dick into the cell, locking it as they turned and left.

The push sent pain rushing through Dick's body, and biting his lips hard enough to drawn blood, Dick fought back the tears that attempted to escape. Breathing heavily, he walked over to the hard bed and laid down, attempting to get comfortable.

"If only Babs could see me now" he whispered quietly to no one in particular with a small smile appearing on his face, before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

CH 11

Today Dick wasn't awoken by a blaring alarm, no, today Dick wasn't woken up by anything loud and annoying: No alarm, no guards, no nothing. Just his natural body clock. This being the second thing he realised when he woke up was enough to put a smile on his face (The first thing he realised being the fact he was in immense pain all over, which more so made him frown).

Sitting up slowly as the dizziness that overcame him was almost unbearable, Dick squinted as he observed the room around him. No roommate, no other cells nearby, a solid concrete door instead of bars. Something more peaceful to say the least.

Dick, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and slowly standing, hissed at the sudden coldness of the ground against his bare feet. Curse the lack of heating.

No sooner had he stood did the door swing open, causing Dick to have a mini-heart attack and almost fall back onto his bed. Looking towards the now open door, he was able to see the corridor that stretched out behind the guard that had entered.

"Come on kid, breakfast has just started" spoke the guard, his voice echoing around the space.

Dick groggily replied, his words slurring a little from sleep, "Breakfast already? I wasn't woken up for showers?"

"Doctors orders to let you rest, now hurry up" explained the guard as he moved behind Dick and begun pushing him towards the door. Dick found himself internally groaning at that as he really didn't want to be in a crowded room surrounded by criminals.

Cursing the guard under his breathe as he was pushed out of the cell and into the corridor, he turned to said guard and spat out, "I can walk by myself, thanks very much"

The guard, his mouth turning into a frown, roughly gripped Dick's shoulders and spun him back around as he continued to push him down the corridor with a reply of "Apparently not, so shut up and walk kid"

Deciding not to fight back due to the protest of pain in his ribs, and everywhere else, Dick continued his journey towards the cafeteria with dread.

* * *

Walking through the doors to the cafeteria with the guard was plain dejavu of the shower incident for Dick, as he once again stood there with all eyes looking at him. He frowned at this and quickly averted his gaze to the ground, deciding he was not liking all the attention. Silently making his way to a free table in the back corner, he glanced towards where the food was being served as he tried his best to ignore the pain radiating through his body, thinking to himself 'My stomach's too sore to eat any food'.

Leaning back in his chair Dick's eyes locked onto the ceiling above as he lost himself in thought. He wanted to close his eyes, still exhausted despite all the sleep he'd had, but that would mean letting his guard down and nothing good ever came from that.

A group of 4 strolled over to Dick, sitting down around him as they gave him a once over, assessing his current condition. Their leader, entertained by the oblivious young boy, cleared his throat loudly to gain his attention. Dick was snapped out of his train of thought immediately as he suffered through his second mini-heart attack that day. Breathing out slowly to calm himself, he turned his attention to the group before him.

"Robin! How you been? Never mind, stupid question, we already know the answer. News spreads fast around this place, especially news about you" spoke Luke, the leader of the gang Mamba, a little too cheerfully for Dick's liking.

Cursing under his breathe because he really just wanted to be left alone and wallow in self-pity, Dick asked in a slightly annoyed tone, "News about me? I'm not that interesting, can't be much happening"

"We heard what happened to you in the shower room, and what happened out in the yard. Sorry to say but your reputation here is slowly being ruined" Luke replied, his words causing Dick to freeze. He hadn't expected word of the events to get out which was quiet stupid of him since, like Luke said, he was a major topic in this place.

Wishing for some peace and quiet, Dick sighed and questioned uninterestedly, "Your point being?"

Suddenly the look on Luke's face changed, along with the other members of the gang who had been observing the conversation. Leaning closer to Dick, Luke gripped his shoulder and with a sincere Luke spoke, "We're really sorry Rob, we said we'd protect you but we clearly failed. Only known you for a few days man, but you're definitely something special."

After Luke finished, the gang stood and left Dick with his own thoughts as they disappeared into the crowd. Dick's eyes followed their movements until he could no longer see them, and releasing the breath he'd been holding without realising, he re-focused his gaze towards the roof, allowing his thoughts and emotions to flow.

* * *

When all the other inmates were moved to the yard, Dick found himself being dragged by a guard in the opposite direction. He was rather confused, having been sitting there lost in thought one moment, and the next being abruptly pulled from his chair and dragged out of the room and down some corridors.

A little disorientated from all the movement that was putting strain on his body, Dick allowed himself to be escorted to wherever they wanted him. "You have visitors" was all the guard had said to him. 'Visitors? As in more than one?' thought Dick who was thoroughly confused. Who'd come visit him? He doesn't have any friends or relatives or anyone who really cares.

He found the answer in a room that only contained a table and a few chairs. The guard sat him down at one end and chained Dick's hand to the table. Wincing slightly at how tight the handcuffs were around his wrists, Dick looked towards the other end of the table through the sheet of glass that stretched along the middle. The ginger hair that greeted him put a grin on his face.

"Babs didn't know you were coming for a visit, might've made an effort if I did. Gordon, what brings you to this cozy place?" questioned Dick, a hint of playfulness in his voice. Truthfully, he was ecstatic to see the commissioner and his daughter, but being cocky and a smart-ass was part of his personality so he'd never voice that out loud.

"Dick good to see you, I'm sorry to say but this isn't a personal visit but more a visit to update you on some things" voiced Gordon.

Babs, smiling at Dick and giving him a quick wave, cut-in before her father could continue, "Hey there Grayson, haven't forgotten me already have you? Wow I never knew how much this place matches your face, grey and ugly"

Smirking at Barbara's humour, Dick retaliated saying "And I never noticed how much your hair matched these prison uniform's Babs"

Barabara glanced at the bright-orange uniform Dick was wearing, scrunching her nose up in disgust. "You are clearly colour blind circus boy" countered Babs, a cocky grin on her face.

Clearing his throat and successfully gaining the two's attention, Gordon continued, "As I was saying, I'm here to update you on some things. The first being your foster home, you'll be returning to it once you're released" (Dick didn't even try hiding his cringe after hearing this, maybe prison wasn't so bad after all) "And the second thing being school matters. When you're back at your foster home, you will be attending Gotham Academy. Barbara also goes there, so she'll take care of you, won't you Babs?"

"Babysitting? I don't know, he seems like a handful" playfully replied Babs.

"If anyone's a handful here, it's the spoilt commissioner's daughter, the princess up on her high horse" counteracted Dick jokingly.

"Good to see you both get along, it'll make things easier. Stay safe, Dick. Come on Babs time's up" spoke-up Gordon, worried things would escalate.

Watching the duo stand and begin to exit, Dick quickly yelled out, "Sir, isn't Gotham Academy the top school in Gotham for the rich and smart students?"

"You'll have another visitor later to explain that in more depth" was all he got as an answer.

* * *

With more questions now than answers, Dick was left in a slightly grumpy mood. 'Who else in coming? Who's paying for my schooling? Definitely not my foster family. If it was Gordon, he would have told me all the details. I haven't really met anyone else though, God I'm so confused!' complained Dick in his mind.

He had been sitting in the same room for the past hour, still chained to the damn table, and his patience had run-out 10 minutes ago. The guards hadn't bothered moving him since the other visitor would come sometime during the day. Dick just hoped sooner or later.

Fortune was in his favour that day apparently since the doors opened once again a few minutes later. Raising his gaze towards the door, Dick studied the figure that strolled in as casually as if he were entering someone's house. He watched as the tall man adorning a sleek black suit, freshly polished shoes and perfect hair took a seat.

The atmosphere that entered the room with the man was intense, serious and slightly intimidating. This guy was the definition of business, and Dick was doing his best to remain composed.

"Hello my name is Bruce Wayne, head of Wayne Enterprises"

'He even speaks professionally' Dick thought to himself as he found himself unable to reply. Although any questions Dick had been thinking of were answered regardless.

"No, we haven't met before. Not formally anyway. What brings me here today is the fact I've heard your story: Orphaned from a young age, left to fend for yourself in the unforgiving Gotham. All the details"

Dick frowned at this, unhappy that this stranger knew all about him yet he knew nothing of this 'Bruce Wayne'.

"I will let you know, , that I have been attempting to adopt you for quite some time. Ever since you were moved to foster care. However, my efforts have turned out fruitless. As I am unable to help you there, I have decided to fund your education. The least I can do"

Dick was shocked to say the least. Why would anyone adopt him? He's just a kid from the circus. Oh, and there's the answer to his schooling.

"I'm giving you a scholarship to attend Gotham Academy, along with supplying you with uniforms, books, and everything else"

Dick felt touched, truly, but he still didn't understand the motivation behind the man's actions.

"That's all, ." finished Bruce, who exited as abruptly as he finished speaking. This now left Dick alone in the empty room, once again filled with more questions than answers, except a new set of questions. All of them happened to be focused around this 'Bruce Wayne'.


End file.
